Families Demand Saudi Answers on Stampede Anniversary

Date: 25 September 2020 - 22:19

News ID: ۸۳۱۹۶

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- History will never forget the day on which thousands of Muslims suffocated or were crushed to death during the annual Hajj Pilgrimage in Mecca in 2015.
Two days after the tragedy, the Saudi government put the official death toll at 750, with nearly 1000 others injured, but independent sources have put the real number in the thousands.
Most of the victims were from the Islamic Republic of Iran, where families are still seeking a clear answer from the Saudi government.
On the anniversary of the Mina disaster on Thursday, relatives of the victims attended a ceremony in Tehran where officials pledged to press Saudis on the incident. They also reiterated their demand that the hidden aspects of the tragedy must be revealed.
Nearly 470 Iranians were killed in the stampede caused by the Saudi’s incapability and mismanagement.
Earlier, Iran’s Hajj Organization released a statement saying a fact-finding committee must be formed to investigate the tragic event, but so far the Saudi government has not published any report on details of the incident.